Anderson to face Benneteau in Sydney semis
Anderson will face Julien Benneteau of France in Friday's last four.
SYDNEY: Towering Kevin Anderson became the first South African to reach the semi-finals of the Sydney International in nine years with victory over Denis Istomin on Thursday.
The 36th-ranked Anderson accounted for the Uzbek 6-4, 6-3 in 84 minutes and will face last year s finalist Julien Benneteau of France in Friday s last four.
The last South African to reach the last four was Wayne Ferreira.
Anderson, who is 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 metres) tall, is bidding to claim his third ATP title after previous victories in Delray Beach and Johannesburg.
"It s always good to start the year off on a good note," he said.
"It s still just the second tournament and my sights are set on the Australian Open, but this is a great opportunity for me. I m really pleased to be in the semi-finals."
Anderson, 26, is coming off a successful week at the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth for South Africa, where he beat Fernando Verdasco and John Isner.
"I ve had a really good off-season. Practised hard. I think the Hopman Cup was a fantastic event," he said. "I felt it was a great opportunity for some very good preparation.
"Coming into Sydney, I ve had some good matches under my belt from last week and I ve been able to keep that going. I ve felt better with each match."
Benneteau, who lost to Finland s Jarkko Nieminen in last year s final, was too strong for American qualifier Ryan Harrison, winning 6-4, 6-2.
Australian youngster Bernard Tomic takes on Nieminen and Italian third seed Andreas Seppi faces eighth seed Marcel Granollers of Spain later Thursday.
